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Kale Spinach Basil Pesto Chicken, Fennel and Bean Salad

May 13, 2015 by Tania 10 Comments

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Kale Spinach Basil Pesto Chicken sounds a bit fancy but truly it couldn’t be any easier. Full of good things to make you feel alive and well this weeknight wonder is a crunchy tasty favourite around here. make the pesto and keep it in a jar for up to a week. Don’t skip the green bean and fennel salad here too, it’s quick and tastes so good with the chicken. You could also use this pesto with vegetables too!

Kale Spinach Basil pesto with chicken in a black bowl

No doubt about it, green crunchy food can make you feel alive……. Being alive can make you feel alive too.

That’s exactly what I thought a month back after I managed to step out of my car in one piece. The car was wrapped around a telegraph pole when I looked back on it, and from then on I felt that nothing would worry me again, being alive and in one piece was all that mattered.

A month and a half has passed by without me having a car and I have forgotten the joy I felt just being standing on that footpath looking at the lucky escape I had. That’s because insurance is a mean thing and navigating car salesmen really is like entering a swimming pool full of sharks. Dare I say that the sharks circle with wild abandon when they see a woman walking up the drive way.

The car

After much worry and stress I now have a cute blue car. I have dealt with car salesmen and sharks of the car world and although a few issues remain I have been very impressed with my own steely determination. I have car.

To celebrate I’ve made some quick and lively food. This is perfect for a weeknight dinner. The kale and herb pesto is full of crunchy almond bits and it is delicious.

Try this perfect Kale, Spinach Basil Pesto Chicken with fennel and bean salad.

Kale Spinach Basil Pesto with chicken and beans

Crunchy Pesto chicken with shaved fennel salad and beans- is alive food!

Kale Spinach Basil Pesto with beans and chicken

This Kale Spinach Basil Pesto originated in The SuperFoods Kitchen Cookbook for Bioglan and is a recipe by Jacqueline Alwill. I have altered it a little by adding parmesan and lemon and lots more green leafy things than the original had. It would be great with pasta and even greater with zucchini vegetable pasta ( spiralized).  But here it is in a kind of light and fresh, no grains or gluten kind of weeknight meal.

Kale, Spinach Basil Pesto with chicken

Kale Spinach Basil Pesto Chicken, Fennel and Bean salad

Keep this yummy green pesto in the fridge for pastas and even to add to the top of soups, add to dressings and serve on toasted sour dough.
5 from 3 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Cuisine Italian Style
Servings 4

Ingredients
  

Green Kale Pesto

  • 50 gm baby spinach leaves 1 cup
  • 50 gm parsley flatleaf 1 cup
  • 50 gm basil leaves 1 cup
  • 3 Tablespoon dried kale powder - bioglan, don't skip it is perfection
  • 75 gm raw almonds 1/2 cup
  • 50 gm Parmesan cheese grated (1/2 cup)
  • 60 ml lemon Juice 1/4 cup - 1/2 a lemon
  • 1/2 clove garlic crushed
  • 185 ml olive oil 3/4 cup

Chicken Salad

  • 500 gm chicken tenderloins
  • 1 medium fennel bulb 21/2 - 3 cups
  • 1 small Spanish Onion sliced
  • 200 gm Cherry Tomatoes shaved or cut very fine 1/2'd, 1 x punnet
  • 400 gm green beans
  • 20 gm dijon mustard 1 tablespoon
  • 40 ml red wine vinegar 2 Tablespoons
  • 60 ml olive oil 3 Tablespoons
  • 5 gm salt and pepper
  • Extra 2-3 Tablespoons olive oil

Instructions
 

To make the Pesto

  • Put the nuts, garlic and parmesan into the food processor and blitz briefly just to break up a bit. Add the leaves, lemon juice and olive oil and process in bursts cleaning down the sides . Keep it chunky. Taste for salt and if there is enough oil to combine the pesto. Add at will. Set aside
  • Put a pot of salted water onto the stove and bring to the boil. Add the prepared beans and bring back to the boil. Drain immediately and refresh with cold water. Set aside
  • Put the dijon, vinegar and oil into a bowl with salt and pepper. Add the sliced or shaved head of fennel and toss.
  • In another bowl big enough to hold all of the chicken add 3-4 tablespoons of the kale pesto and set aside. ( You can also add a teaspoon of white balsamic or lemon juice and some more oil & salt to taste)
  • Heat a non-stick pan on high. Add 1 Tablespoon of oil and the Spanish onion. Sauté on medium until softening. Add the tomatoes and toss till just starting to wilt. Add this to the fennel and toss well.

* Note 1

  • Clean down the pan with kitchen paper and heat again on high. Add another tablespoon of olive oil, then the chicken to the pan. The tenderloins will cook very quickly, turn down the heat and cook for 5-8 minutes or till just firm to touch ( test one by cutting open. Put the chicken straight into the bowl with the pesto and roll them around to coat.
  • Serve along side the salad with any left over pesto from the bowl

Notes

VEGAN, omit the parmesan and add a dash of white miso for extra umami flavour

Kale, Spinach Basil Pesto with chicken

 

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Filed Under: Chicken and Poultry, RECIPES, Salad Tagged With: alive food, cooking chicken, dinner food, easy weeknight cooking, green food, kale, kale spinach basil pesto, pesto, Quick meals, vegan pesto, vegetarian ideas

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Lily Lau

    May 17, 2015 at 4:33 am

    5 stars
    Oh no, poor you! 🙁 I’m so relieved everything’s fine, phew…!

    Reply
  2. Sammie @ The Annoyed Thyroid

    May 17, 2015 at 4:19 am

    Wowzers! That was a lucky escape! It’s true what they say, that everything is replaceable except life itself. I trust you are enjoying the shiny blue car. This looks totally delicious and is perfectly timed, as I have some chicken tenderloins in the freezer that are begging to be eaten. I just have to track down some of that kale powder… in what other ways/dishes can you use it?

    Reply
    • My Kitchen Stories

      May 17, 2015 at 4:25 pm

      Hi Sammie. Nice to see you yesterday. You can use kale powder in just about anything you want some green goodness in. Smoothies, mayo, sauces ( last minute). I have just made some zucchini patties and put a couple of tablespoons in there. I am so not a kale person. i hate the prickly hard leaves but the powder is awesome>

      Reply
  3. Krista

    May 15, 2015 at 7:56 pm

    5 stars
    I am SO glad that you are safe AND that you have a lovely new car to drive. XO I share your joy because I just got a car as well, and it is a wonderful thing. This salad is gorgeous and so savory. 🙂

    Reply
  4. Dedy@Dentist Chef

    May 15, 2015 at 7:44 am

    thanks God that your okay my friend….
    The salad seems simply damn delicious!!!
    Dedy@Dentist Chef

    Reply
  5. Kari @ bite-sized thoughts

    May 15, 2015 at 3:46 am

    I’m so sorry about your accident, but really glad you are ok! I hope you aren’t too shaken up by it all and the new car is going some way to make up for the crash and associated challenges.

    Reply
  6. Dannielle@zamamabakes

    May 14, 2015 at 11:15 pm

    Oh you poor thing Tania! I’m glad you are ok and glad that you’ve got the new blue car. I loathe dealing with dodgy car salesman, we’ve had some horrors who think if you’re looking then you’re buying but how can you buy before you look, some get so cranky when you say your off to look elsewhere! Anyway back to this delicious chicken dish of yours, it looks and sounds amazing, that salad sound scrumptious too!
    Have a gorgeous weekend and enjoy that little car.

    Reply
  7. Hotly Spiced

    May 14, 2015 at 2:27 pm

    It’s so amazing you weren’t injured in that accident. I’m so glad you now have a car! And yes, it’s is terrible being a woman and having to deal with the secondhand car market. I do love the look of your dish and the kale pesto sounds terrific xx

    Reply
  8. Angie@Angie's Recipes

    May 14, 2015 at 1:05 pm

    o gosh..I am so relived that you are OK! Good thing that I don’t drive!!
    The pesto chicken with bean salad looks utterly delicious and good for you too.

    Reply
  9. Maureen | Orgasmic Chef

    May 13, 2015 at 10:18 pm

    5 stars
    Yay! I look at that photo and it’s scary. Then I see telegraph pole and I chuckle. We yanks know those as telephone poles – we moved on from the dark ages.

    Your chicken salad is very grown up and modern so you get big points for this one. It looks delicious!

    Reply

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Tania Cusack Hi, I'm Tania and this is My Kitchen Stories. I share all kinds of recipes here. Most recipes are quick and easy, just perfect for families. BUT, you could also find vegan, cakes and desserts too. Come and have a look around Read More
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